B Nashan, H J Schlitt, G Tusch, K J Oldhafer, B Ringe, S Wagner, R Pichlmayr – 1 May 1996 – Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic inflammatory disease associated in 10% to 36% of those with hepatobiliary malignancies, which are, in the majority of cases, not known prior to transplantation. Diagnosis of carcinomas in a PSC setting at an early stage has not yet been achieved, because there are no differences in the age of patients or clinical course, particularly with regard to the time between diagnosis of PSC and detection of carcinomas.

J Kartenbeck, U Leuschner, R Mayer, D Keppler – 1 May 1996 – The Dubin‐Johnson syndrome is characterized by an inherited defect in the secretion of amphiphilic anionic conjugates from hepatocytes into the bile. We have recently identified the membrane protein mediating the adenosine triphosphate (ATP)‐dependent transport of glutathione and glucuronate conjugates as a multidrug‐resistance protein (MRP) and localized it to the canalicular as well as to the lateral hepatocyte plasma membrane.

B A Korba, H Xie, K N Wright, W E Hornbuckle, J L Gerin, B C Tennant, K Y Hostetler – 1 May 1996 – It would be desirable to develop antiviral agents that can be targeted to liver to enhance their antiviral effects and reduce nonhepatic toxicity. 2′,3′‐Dideoxyguanosine (ddG) has been found to be a potent and selective antihepatitis B agent both in vitro and in vivo. To evaluate ddG and its liver‐targeted analog, we synthesized a series of phosphatidyl‐ddGs and incubated them with 2.2.15 cells, which chronically produce hepatitis B virus.

Ravi S. Chari, Mark E. Baker, Sean R. Sue, William C. Meyers – 1 May 1996 – Liver regeneration has been described after heterotopic liver transplantation, small‐for‐size orthotopic liver transplantation and reduced‐size liver transplantation. In this report, we document the regenerative response of a whole liver transplant to major resection for the first time. A right hepatic lobectomy for liver ischemia was performed in a 30‐year‐old female after transplantation for autoimmune disease of the liver.

Luca S. Belli, Enrico Silini, Alberto Alberti, Giorgio Bellati, Claudio Vai, Ernesto Minola, Gianfranco Rondinara, Luciano De Carlis, Margherita Asti, Domenico Forti, Gaetano Ideo – 1 May 1996 – Several genotypes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) have been recently identified by phylogenetic analysis, but their clinical relevance in the liver transplant setting is unknown. We evaluated the incidence and course of recurrent hepatitis C after transplantation in 50 patients who underwent transplantation for HCV‐related liver disease.

A M Tiggelman, W Boers, A F Moorman, P A J de Boer, C M Van der Loos, J P Rotmans, R A Chamuleau – 1 May 1996 – α2‐Macroglobulin (α2M) in the rat is a strong‐reacting acute‐phase protein with potent protease‐inhibiting and cytokine‐binding properties. Production of α2M is ascribed mainly to liver parenchymal cells. In the present study, we investigated, by means of immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, whether fibrosis in the rat liver induced by Schistosoma mansoni eggs leads to local production of α2M.

T Adachi, S Nakashima, S Saji, T Nakamura, Y Nozawa – 1 May 1996 – Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) stimulated mitogen‐activated protein (MAP) kinases and MAP kinase kinase in primary cultured rat hepatocytes. Inhibitors for protein kinase C (PKC), Ro31‐8425, H‐7, and calphostin C, reduced HGF‐induced MAP kinase activity. A PKC activator, phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), induced MAP kinase activation in a concentration‐dependent manner. Protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitors, genistein, and ST638 also inhibited HGF‐induced MAP kinase activation.

J Cordoba – 1 May 1996

L S Friedman – 1 May 1996

G Kullak‐Ublick, T Gerloff, B Hagenbuch, F Berr, P J Meier, B Stieger – 1 May 1996 – A phospholipid translocating protein from rat liver has been expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes.